Laurie Spiegel - Waveshaper TV Ep.6 (Part 3 of 3: The Expanding Universe)

[@ghostexits]

This person is a treasure; Would love to see a full length documentary on Laurie Speigel; There's so many interesting aspects of her music with seemingly so little written about her; Besides all the more well known recordings, she performed with Terry Riley at the Kitchen in the early 70s, would love to hear more about that; She recorded with No Wave musician Don Christensen in the late 70s-- that's amazing stuff too, and I love that she crossed paths with this completely alternate sort of experimental scene. I'd love to hear how it is she got involved with analog modular synths in the early 70s; How did she get a hold of all these EML machines so early on in their development, and when she must have been quite young herself.

[@cferrarini]

She´s absolutely right. people today do not have the serenity ro read anymore, to listen to albums, the attention span is reduced to seconds. It was amazing what could be done with early synths. Even what the bell phone system became, shaped humanity behaviour, and people would communiate, you could call your friends and talk for hours, even phone phreaks were brilliant. But today we have a digital communication and information standard never imagined. You can call for free instantly anyone on earth. Have access to any media, but awkwardly people do not answer the phone. Anyone bothers to communicate, we dont call friends. Are we to busy having fun ? When did we lost it?

[@WiredSpaceWizard]

Very interesting what she said about overload and the need for the brain to be deprived of stimulus at times to help perpetuate a vibrant imagination. Really amazing insights!

[@niilo2852]

I feel like I could sit down and listen to this woman speak for days.

[@DanielHeikalo]

Absolutely brilliant woman, and a generous soul also. Thank you Laurie.

[@enthusiast1]

Beautiful... at 6:54 "...listening inside of our own minds to what begins to take form because it's what we need and want to hear. ..." This and the lead-in to it resonated as if I were being reminded of something I knew long ago, forgotten somewhere along the way. I've heard many talks on today's information overload, social media, etc., but the way she says this, the life experience it comes from, somehow has great simplicity, clarity. Really wonderful. Thank you. 🙏

[@gwsound]

Wauw knowing history helps to understand where we are today. I found a treasure today.

[@Iterationanddiscord]

Once again, she nailed it. Thank you Laurie for articulating what I cannot.

[@Syncopator]

I can identify with a lot of this-- in the 1970s I was an amateur electric guitar player working for Tektronix, who bought one of the first home computer kits that I soldered together myself, and used to manipulate one of the early semi-modular synthesizers (ARP 2600) as well as doing some experimental DSP algorithm work with a custom circuit board. But my experience was different regarding the idea of "folk" music. What's odd though, is I've found now, years later, that virtually all of my musician friends are what are now called, "traditional" musicians, where everything must be acoustic. Synthesizers, and even electric guitars, tend to be non grata, and it kind of leaves me out of it. So I continue to do my own thing with computers, synthesizers and electric guitar. And for me, I've no particular problem with finding "quiet" in order to hear my internal sounds-- as I compose differently than that-- my internal sounds are virtually impossible to reproduce externally as they are constructed from timbres and melodies that I've had little luck in duplicating in reality, so my internal music isn't very productive. Once in awhile I can transcribe a melody from my head, but usually it is unsatisfying, while a pure process of discovery, for me, is much more productive. I compose by exploring and discovering new sounds and melodies experimentally with instruments, rather than working with an internal image of what I want to hear-- I encounter sounds that I then manipulate and combine with other sounds in order to create pieces of another sort. I still play guitar and work with synthesizers (mostly Eurorack at this point), on that path of discovery. Laurie's approach certainly works for some people-- Danny Elfman is another composer who describes a similar process of composition that Laurie does, but others, like me, will compose AT some kind of instrument instead of in their head, exploring its capabilities and interesting characteristics and new techniques, rather than imagining it in all advance. There is much to discover from either method.

[@wavesequencer]

Complete overload - yes.. including this video that I'm watching instead of getting on with my work.. but glad I found it :)

[@billsantry]

Really appreciate her humility and quiet insights on life and music.

[@f115Recs]

Profound. She couldn't be any more correct. To create something that is not a reaction to something else is worth aspiring to. We're beginning to understand that all this noise around us is too much. It turns out that 'low input' is critical to our well being after all. Hear hear, Laurie!

[@coadmiller5010]

Tweets from the teenage neighbors saying "why go to the mall when you can go down to the basement, get stoned, and listen to Laurie Spiegel's music". How cool is that? They're hip to her, and know she's totally hip!.. fact is look at the first two b&w photos of her... Major Babe!... Hell, look @ her now!.. still looks pretty great, if you ask me but be that's not what its really all about, izzit?.. I fell in love with her because of her music, pure and simple... and her looks don't hurt either...

[@coadmiller5010]

I know what she means about sensory overload.. that's basically the whole purpose of meditation, stilling the mind, and when your thaughts return, there's more clarity... I used to just lay down next to the vacuum cleaner and not just lose all thought in the enharmonic drones it produced ( but this vacuum was particularly good at that!) Like La Monte Young's childhood in Ūtah, when we he would listen intently to the sounds emanating from a step-down transformer which would help shape all by of his music thereafter... On another by note, I wonder if she's ever heard of the new music of to the next prolific band Stereolab... I think thier use of synthesizers would intrigue her, notwithstanding the "sensory overload" factor of the present day I love them, and I think she might too... They're that good!...

[@audioartisan]

I remember, and feel grateful to have grown up before the Internet took hold. I remember the inspirational moments of silence, and understand just how much "overload" has become such a distraction of imagination.

[@juergenbranz]

oh my. she is so amazing. i love her. thanks for this!!

[@HomespunWisdom]

Beautifully expressed insights on the nature of creativity (which is equally applicable to learning in general). Without time for thought or introspection, the mind is merely processing, but with silence or moments of information deprivation, the imagination is inspired to express itself (in a sense, in order to fill or to bridge the silence that it has encountered). This is a far more valuable and interactive approach to art and knowledge rather than simply being a mimic response or passive experience . I also find it wonderful that she sees electronic music as a form of folk music. Thank you for this amazing interview!

[@ashleympuenteperpetualash9536]

Beautiful words! I love her focus on space being the main seed of creativity!

[@thejestern]

Great informations and point of view about a forgotten past!

[@shookmusic]

Truly inspiring. ❤❤❤

[@PnPModular]

Beautiful,surprising, important messages thank you

[@FastusMusic]

Fascinating

[@juhasoderqvist1946]

correct, silence and nothingness, is the key to create something. overload is to work with all that stuff this to get balance.

[@coadmiller5010]

Syncopated: I too used to play an ARP 2600 modular synth... I certainly couldn't afford one, but had the privilege of access to the one at Arizona State University electronic music lab, along with a Scully 8 track and Revox two track for mixdowns. This was in '73, '74, and we I didn't even attend classes there but two good friends did, hence my access to it...

[@LisaBellaDonnaMusic]

Absolute Truth

[@Seekthetruth3000]

She seems to be in a different dimension.

[@oblomurg]

Thanks for your help with Music Mouse. I still use it with my G4 os9.

[@karltrinkwasser3076]

Wow

[@christoroppolo8742]

Magical. Peace Christo 👽

[@LarsBjerregaard]

Wise woman

[@electronicgarden3259]

❤

[@frankjamesbonarrigo7162]

silence is golden

[@boldstandard]

🤯

[@jan-martinulvag1962]

the natural state of the mind is abstract, formless. There is nothing in the mind. Without the universe there is nothing

[@Noiretranquility]

The only form of freedom we have these days is when we have the chance of not doing anything, it’s the only time we’re not being feed with stuff.

[@popcycles]

If you can, go for a walk, don't bring headphones. Just listen and walk.

[@tomditto3972]

three for three (3 4 3)

[@ancoopa]

What a woman.

[@bognodes]

Great job. Interview more women composers! I suggest Pauline Anna Strom.

[@WaveshaperMedia]

Thanks for your kind words - glad you enjoyed it! Regarding your suggestion for more interviews with women composers - let me suggest that you check Waveshaper TV Episode 3, with thereminist and composer Carolina Eyck. Our next episode is with a female duo from Berlin called Group A. We are certainly open to suggestions for interviews with great electronic musicians and composers, but unfortunately we're not a big-budget production company who can simply afford to travel the world in order to produce free-to-stream KZbin videos. Most of our videos are filmed in Toronto, where we are. In this case we happened to be in NYC, while filming for our forthcoming Morton Subotnick documentary. Please consider supporting our work on Patreon - once we get enough financial support there, we will definitely consider putting some of our earnings towards traveling for more interviews. More info about Waveshaper TV on Patreon: www.patreon.com/waveshapertv

[@Benjamin-bq7tc]

She could pass for Marvin Minsky's little sister.

[@jan-martinulvag1962]

she is saying that when she grew up there were a lot of silence? Surrounded by all those computers? Come on, give me a break

[@Boundlesseuphoria]

Throwing babies out with bathwater 6:23

[@giordano.rizzardi]

❤️